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Meet the new Public Safety Director
by Brian Egeston
be@brianwrites.com
At an April press conference, DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis made a surprise move by using his executive power to appoint William Miller public saftey director just hours after DeKalb commissioners voted 4-3 against allocating funds for the job Miller now holds. Miller, appearing in front of a throng of media professionals, seemed visibly nervous. Turns out, very little scares him. Miller in known in some circles by the moniker “Wiz,” a convergence of his first name and middle nane Zebulun—a biblical reference bestowed upon him in honor of his two grandfathers, who were ministers.
A career that began when he was an officer 23 years ago took turns in narcotics, SWAT and undercover. During a seven-year stint as an undercover officer, Miller said, for a while he became a different person. “To be good at [undercover work] you have to assume some of the traits of a street to mid-level drug dealer,” Miller explained. He won’t reveal how deep undercover he worked, but some of the people Miller helped send to prison 10 years ago, are just now scheduled to be released.
The 49-year-old father of two didn’t come from a law enforcement family, rather his parents were educators and civic leaders in a tight-knit Atlanta community—a community that was shocked one day when Miller was in his teens. He arrived home to find police cars and media invading his neighborhood. They swarmed the area to report on one of Miller’s former schoolmates who was a murder suspect–Wayne Williams. Miller was 17 when the Atlanta child murders were occurring. “I knew at least two of the victims,” said Miller. “I wasn’t particularly concerned because I was outside the risk group.
Miller’s tenure on the streets has hardened him. He said one of the most horrific events during his time in the criminal justice system was prosecuting a murder case in which a homeless man was beaten to death in the city of Decatur. “That’s was the absolute worst murder I’ve ever seen,” Miller said. “There are crimes that don’t touch me personally, but that one affected me the most.”
After rising through the ranks as an officer, Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with honors and later entered law school at Georgia State where he earned a law degree. But Miller admits now he’ll have to shelve the legal know-how as he concentrates on the new task at hand.
Miller had ties to other monumental criminal acts in metro Atlanta. When murder suspect Brian Nichols shot and killed a superior court judge and court reporter in 2005, one of the officers who started a foot chase in the streets was Hoyt Teasly. Nichols shot Teasly several times in the abdomen and the officer later died. “Hoyt Teasly was my best friend growing up,” said Miller. “[His death] greatly stressed me. That was a very dark time in my life.” Miller said he was also very close with slain DeKalb County Sherriff Elect Derwin Brown and rushed to the scene of his shooting the day he was murdered in 2000.
Miller said some of the public safety issues are related to socioeconomic problems and in his home he simply tries to teach his daughters right from wrong and hope they respect and obey the law. “The facts are what they are. There’s not going to be a parent in every home. In some homes, the big brother or big sister is the parent. At that point, the community has to step in and raise the child or they become a problem of the criminal justice system and nobody wants that.”
Miller said if he could magically change anything in the county, it would be the level of respect that people have for each other. “If you have a new officer coming to work and he feels like he’s not being respected from his superiors, it affects the way he goes out and does his job.” Miller said there is a snowball effect that occurs when people are disrespected and the effect is detrimental. He said the disrespected officer may mistreat a citizen who then takes the foul mood home to family members or neighbors. Problems of domestic violence, child abuse and bullying may follow.
Miller has set some lofty goals for his first 100 days on the job. He’s committed to fixing morale in the police department and sorting out technology issues. Ultimately, he said, safety is his biggest concern. “I want to put a blanket of protection over the county,” said Miller. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the citizens of this county feel safe.”
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